Links

Contact

Conference sponsors

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Please read the following travel information carefully. It will save you time
on your journey to Brno and moving about in the city. Currency, climate, and
any travel documents you may need are also discussed. General information
about the city can be found on the Venue web page.

Arriving by Plane

A limited number of direct flights are available to Brno, or you may use the large international airports at Vienna (130km) or Prague (200km). There are good train/bus connections from each of these airports to Brno. Some airlines even offer direct bus transport to Brno from the airport. Ask your travel agent about this option when buying your plane ticket.

Flying to Brno

Brno has a growing
international
airport (BRQ). There are regular flight connections from Prague (Czech
Republic), Munich (Germany) and
London Stansted (UK). If possible, we recommend flying directly to Brno.
It is usually the most comfortable and flights to Brno can be very inexpensive.

Flying to Vienna

Vienna (130km from Brno) has an international airport (VIE)
with many flights from Europe and overseas countries.

Information on going from the airport to various train stations can be found
at the airport web
page or at the
Austrian
Airline web page (austrian national airlines). For connections
from the airport to Brno see OBB-Holding AG web pages
(austrian national railways). You should fill in the
folowing stations to check timetables

From : Flughafen Wien(in
German Flughafen means airport)
To : Brno

There are also direct buses from the airport to Brno operated by
Student
Agency. The buses stop in front of arrival hall each day
at 8:05am, 11:05am, 6:05pm, and 8:30pm and cost 300 CZK.

Flying to Prague

Prague (200km from Brno) is well connected to European
countries. There are direct flights to Prague International Airport - Ruzyne (PRG) from most capitals in
Europe and from some overseas countries like U.S.A. and Canada. The national
airlines are Czech Airlines (CSA) which
are a member of SkyTeam. Many low-fare airlines have flights to Prague, e.g. SmartWings operate from
Prague.

There is no train station at the airport. Trains to Brno usually depart from Holesovice station (Nadrazi Holesovice) or from
Main Station (Hlavni nadrazi). To get to the railway station,
you will need to use a taxi (ask in
advance for approximate price, it could be about 600 CZK) or public
transportation.
Connections from the airport to the train station can be found by entering
the folowing stations into the
Prague public transport:

From : letiste(in
Czech it means airport)
To : hlavni nadrazi(in
Czech it means main (train) station)
or
To : nadrazi Holesovice

Information about train and bus connections from Prague to Brno
can be found at Czech bus and train timetables (the system also includes
public transportation in Prague and Brno).

Timetables
for direct microbuses from Airport Prague-Ruzyne to Brno (operated by
Czech airlines) are available at http://www.csa.cz/en/ (use the link
"Timetable" and select "destination" Brno - ZDN; the buses are denoted as
flights).
Reservation in advance (including for your departure) is strongly recommended.
Please note that there is a significant difference in the ticket prices if you
fly to/from Prague with Czech Airlines (about 4.5 Euro) and with another
company (about 21 Euro).

To avoid taxis or public transportation in Prague, you can also try to buy bus
tickets to Brno at the airport (2nd terminal, departure hall). The buses are operated
by Student Agency and
departs mostly each half past an hour from 8:30am to 7:30pm (there are some missing
connections on Sunday or Saturday).

Arriving by Train, Bus, or Car

Brno can be reached easily by direct EC trains from Prague,
Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. You may find the train or bus
connections which suit you best at
Czech bus and train timetables (for information about train
stations or bus stations go to the next section In Brno).

Brno is located in the southwest part of the Czech Republic, on
the backbone motorway D-1 Prague-Brno-Bratislava, and the
rail-road line Prague-Brno-Vienna.

Other close international airports are in Vienna (recommended) and
in Prague. Brno is about 120 minutes drive from Vienna or 150
minutes drive from Prague. Take Exit 194 B (Brno centrum) and follow the
signs "Hotel International".

Maps

Some maps of the city can be found at Brno
web server (in English, the hotel is marked by red circle), at
centrum.cz (in Czech but easy to use, the hotel is marked by red pin), or at
http://mapy.atlas.cz/mapa/patat06
(in Czech and again easy to use, the hotel is marked by orange arrow). You might need to know one Czech word:
"Hledat" means "Search".

Taxis

Brno taxi services have better reputation than those in Prague.
Still, when using a taxi, it is a good idea to ask for an approximate
price in advance and make sure that the taxi-meter has been set to zero at
the beginning of the ride.

The operator at City Taxi (phone number (++420-) 542 321 321) is able to
speak English.

Prices for travelling from bus or railway station to the Hotel International
should be around 100-150 CZK. Travelling from the airport may cost you about
300-400 CZK.

Public Transportation

Public transportation system in Brno is very good and inexpensive. One ticket will
cost you 8 CZK (10 minutes of travel by 1 bus or tram) or 13 CZK (40 minutes
of travel, any bus and tram changes allowed). You can buy tickets in
advance at a news-stand and mark it inside the tram/bus (recommended).
It is also possible to
buy tickets in tram/bus from the driver but they are slightly more expensive and correct change (10 CZK, 15 CZK) is required.
For details see
Information on South Moravian
Integrated Public Transport System. For timetables, you can go directly to
http://www.idos.cz.

From Railway Station

The Brno main railway station is called "Brno Hlavni nadrazi" (sometimes
used shortcut Brno hl.n.). To reach the
conference site (Hotel International, Husova 16) use tram line 12 or 13 in
direction "Kralovo Pole" and exit at the third stop "Ceska". It will take 7
minutes. From the tram stop, it is about 5 minutes to the hotel (the tram stop is
at the junction of Jostova and Ceska streets).

The railway station is not far from the conference hotel (15-20 minute walk) and
it is very close to the student hostel (5 minute walk). To get to the
student hostel Astorka (Novobranska 3), we recommend you to go on foot.

From Bus Stations

There are two big bus stations in Brno: "Grand Hotel" and "Zvonarka". The
first is located near the railway station. The second is located
about 500 meters from railway station (over footbridge, through shopping
center Vankovka to TESCO store and then
through underpass).

From Brno Airport

General Information

Exchange Facilities and Rates

The currency used in the Czech Republic is the Czech Crown (CZK, koruna ceska,
Kc). There are exchange facilities at the train/bus stations, airport and at
the border. The approximate exchange rate is 24 CZK for one US dollar and 29
CZK for 1 EURO. See actual
exchange
rates.

Czech Crowns are available in the following denominations: 5000, 2000, 1000,
500, 200, 100, 50 and 20. We advise you to ask for 200 or 500 crown banknotes
when you exchange your money as these are easier to change. Do not change
money on the street.

Time Zone and Climate

The Czech Republic is on Central European Summer Time (MET DST), two hours
ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The average temperature for August is
between 20-25 degrees Celsius. The weather is normally warm and sunny. See
weather
forecast.

Travel Documents

The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union. Visitors from most
of the European countries, USA and Canada do not need visas to enter the Czech
Republic. Current information about the need for visas can be found on the
offficial web page of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mzv.cz, go
to Travel and Living Abroad).